Gender equality champion UN Women conducted an online meeting and presentation with the ASEANAPOL Secretariat on April 30, 2024, in its bid to boost the role of gender-responsive policing in the Asian region.
The meeting was initiated by Lea Angela Biason, Programme Specialist in Gender-responsive Policing from the Ending Violence Against Women Section (EVAW) at UN Women. ASEANAPOL is a pan-Asian grouping aiming to increase professionalism and cooperation among police forces in the region.
During the meeting, Biasaon emphasized the key points of gender-responsive policing, which include considering the differing needs of women and girls, men and boys; ensuring that both men and women have equality of opportunity; recognizing the importance of gender response policing in addressing all crimes; considering the needs of the community in all its diversity; and building trust and confidence in local communities, which impacts all crimes, not just violence against women and girls.
The session primarily focused on the planned project partnership that UN Women wants to implement in collaboration with ASEANAPOL. UN Women expects to formalize a high-level Inter-Ministerial Network on gender-responsive policing through ASEANAPOL. UN Women also hopes the Inter-Ministerial Network will become an excellent platform for sharing effective practices.
In the discussion, UN Women expressed a particular interest in identifying regional hubs or regional champions and suggested that ASEANAPOL could serve as a pilot role model. A platform at UN Women is ready for use where network members can connect online and organize virtual meetings, webinars, and discussion forums. Membership could include government institutions at the ministerial level or their representatives, such as the head of national police.
